Distillery: Sourced from Undisclosed Distillery(ies) in Kentucky
Proof: 86.4
Age: NAS
Mashbill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
BACKGROUND: Angel's Envy was founded in 2006 by Lincoln and Wes Henderson, a father & son duo and their whiskey first hit the market in 2011. Lincoln Henderson was the master distiller for nearly 40 years at Brown-Forman and was instrumental in the development of brands such as Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel's Gentlemen Jack, and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. When the idea of Angel's Envy was thought up, Lincoln decided to come out of retirement to be the Master Blender and Distiller for Angel's Envy with a vision to create small-batch artisan bourbon finished in hand-selected port casks. Spending father-son time with Angel's Envy was just as important as creating a new type of whiskey. Eventually, Wes's son Kyle joined to learn side-by-side from his grandfather. In 2012, Angel's Envy announced a limited, annual release of a high proof, cask strength offering and then in 2015 they launched a Caribbean XO Rum Cask finished rye whiskey. In addition to these 3 products, Angel's Envy has select Cellar Collection that are distillery only releases to include a Sherry Finished, Tawny Port Finished, Mizunara Cask, and they just announced a Madeira Finished bourbon.
NOSE: Soft notes of vanilla, honey, light butterscotch, soft oak, some berry, and black licorice greet you with this whiskey. There is a slight ethanol/copper tang to this one that is slightly off putting but this is a very light nose and does not have a lot of depth. The low proof hurts as it takes a while to really pull all of the scents. (20/25)
PALATE: A very sweet and light whiskey with notes of raisins, sweet vanilla, toasted nuts, black pepper, and more light oak. The low proof and youthful notes hinting at a younger whiskey it has a very light and watery mouthfeel. Compared to many other wine finished whiskeys, this one seems to not have pulled as many of the dark fruit and wine notes as others. (33/40)
FINISH: A short finish with notes of light oak, rye spice, rose water, and vanilla. Although it is quite short, it might just be the best part of the whiskey. The combination of smooth rye spice and vanilla make this our favorite part. (21/25)
VALUE: Angel's Envy has a very fair $45 SRP which is where you will often find it on the shelf which is a very fair price. (7/10)
Overall: 81/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Angel's Envy deserve credit as being one of the original finished bourbons on the market which has since exploded in popularity. This is a dessert whiskey with tons of light and sweet flavors that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. This is a great introductory whiskey for those trying to get friends, partners, or spouses into the world of whiskey. For $45 you can't go wrong but there are certainly some other finished whiskey options on the market for you to try if this isn't your jam.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Thomas S. Moore Port Finish
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Three Chord Strange Collaboration
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Heritage Distilling Orange Extract Finished Rye
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away